Wale this is a story all about how

I went on a day trip to a foreign country.

Granted, this foreign country is within the confines of the good ol' United Kingdom, but I'm still counting it. My passport has plenty more opportunities to get tramp stamped, so I think it can sit this one out. In a rare turn of events the weather was actually quite lovely - I'm talking [almost] blue skies and only a smattering of rain. I found it very considerate of Wales to allow us to walk instead of swim about it's capital. Hopefully the inhabitants weren't too annoyed by the invasion of unintentionally loud American students [pretty sure it's in our genetics, our bad], who kept posing for pictures every few steps or so. Because really, how is one supposed to have a good time if the trip hasn't been well-documented by photo evidence?

In order to get the most of this excursion to the capital, our little group left on the 8:30am bus coach. I've got to admit that as I stood on the sidewalk awaiting the arrival of our oh-so-glamourous transportation - complete with a creepy cherubic gnome-man sporting a jaunty yellow hat and shirt - 'present' me was seriously hating 'past' me. You know, the one who thought that leaving so early was a swell idea. Once on the bus most of our party proceeded to the back where there was a nice little collection of seats. Fun fact: there was a reason no one was occupying the seats directly adjacent to the restroom. To the make the situation even more wonderful, the latch decided not to work and allowed the door to swing freely. Ultimately granting us the joys of intermittent whiffs of the glorious smells emanating from within the stall.

Eau d'urine: the perfect complement to any journey.

As she was seated closest to the door, Katrina had the fun task of slamming it shut every couple minutes or so. At least the exercise provided a decent cardio workout. Once there, we all slumped into a nearby coffee shop to take stock of our lives and the choices that had gotten us to this point. Fortunately, we soon discovered the magical properties of caffeine and were ready to storm the castle. Teeming with excellent photo opportunities [and history, I suppose], we had a grand time darting about and discovering the various nooks and crannies.

After sufficiently exploring the grounds and utilizing space on our memory cards, our group parted ways. The three nerdiest members of the party decided to venture down to the bay to geek out over the Doctor Who exhibit. Safe to say the cheese factor was on an all time high, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Had some nice one on one time with the Face of Boe as well as some of the other aliens from the show. Only downside was that the theme song wedged itself firmly into my subconscious and played on a loop for the remainder of the day.

From there we reconvened with the rest of our group. But not before losing our friend Rachel when she stopped off for a bathroom break. Her lack of a UK number made me wonder how people in the old days found the companions they lost. Did they use carrier pigeons or just chalk it up to a fact of life and form other friendships as a replacement?

The trip concluded in a slightly posh pub that had the current football match playing on a massive screen. We decided to root for Manchester because they had the nicer looking uniforms and were pleasantly surprised when they won. Go us. Clearly, all sports alliances should be based upon the team's fashion sense. I'll have to keep this in mind if I ever decide to take up the lucrative occupation of gambling. What could possibly go wrong?

We killed the time before our departure home by purchasing some wine from the local Sainsbury. I was encouraged to splurge and purchase a bottle actually made of glass instead of plastic. Because I'm worth it. Can't tell if Christine, Sean and I annoyed or edified our fellow MegaBus passengers with our analysis of various films and Shakespeare plays. If it was the first, our bad.

After a detour to Katrina's place to meet her flatmates and to check out the "hipster" side of town, the remainder of our group trekked home and collapsed into bed. I definitely slept well into the following day. Not proud of that fact, but it happened. I can't change the past.